Compliance Programme Assumptions Log
This is a practical guide to building a assumptions log for a compliance programme project — a register of the assumptions the plan depends on, to be validated, adapted to the realities of achieving and maintaining regulatory compliance.
What a Assumptions Log is
A assumptions log is a register of the assumptions the plan depends on, to be validated. For the full concept and how it works in general, see Project Assumption. On a compliance programme project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.
Why it matters for a Compliance Programme project
Compliance Programme projects live or die on achieving and maintaining regulatory compliance. A well-built assumptions log gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how compliance programme projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.
What to include
- Assumption
- Impact if wrong
- Owner
- Validation status
Compliance Programme-specific considerations
Tailor the assumptions log to the risks that most often derail compliance programme projects:
- Evolving regulation
- Evidence and audit
- Cross-department coordination
Example
On a real compliance programme project, the assumptions log would be shaped by achieving and maintaining regulatory compliance. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — evolving regulation, evidence and audit, cross-department coordination — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.